MUMBAI: Abolition of octroi could result in saving of more than Rs 2,000 crore and cut down freight time for trucks and commercial vehicles by at least 25%.

As many as 22 states have abolished their check posts since July 1 with the advent of GST. Tax rate on transport services has been increased to 5% from 4.5%, which will be borne by the buyer or seller of the goods whoever is availing the freight services; the latter can then lower final tax liability by claiming input credit.

Also, a GST notification exempting registration of some of the associated entities would save transporters from a lot of paper work.

On an average we spent three hours waiting at the check posts and there was a lot of harassment. In addition, if there are any minor issues with the documents, there was delay of another 3 to 4 hours. And irrespective of whether the documents are in order or not, there was always some bribe to be paid to officials, Said Anil Vijan of G Shantilal Transport Company who operates a fleet of 80 trucks in the southern states.

According to him, covering the distance from Mumbai to Bengaluru, along with loading/unloading of cargo, should not take more than 18 to 20 hours, but all trucks had to wait for 6-10 hours extra at two check posts on the route.

Surjeet Singh Chawla of Chawla Road Lines who operates a fleet of 35 trucks on Mumbai-Kolkata route had to deal with five check posts. We expect to save one day now.

Excerpt from:

Octroi abolition may save Rs 2000 crore, cut freight time after GST rollout - Economic Times